A Boy And His Horse
by JennyGranger
Summary: Five year old Atem meets his horse for the first time.
Okay, so this story was actually written several months ago when a friend of mine presented me with the headcanon that Atem had a very, very strong relationship with his horse. I had posted it on Tumblr to share with her but now decided it should get posted here as well because I really do like this story. I love horses myself and had no problems accepting this headcanon, though I also did tack on that Atem's horse is a foal of the horse that belonged to his mother, just to make it extra special.

Enjoy

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"Atem? Do you want to see something?"

"Hmm?"

"Come with me for a minute," Aknamkanon spoke softly and gently pried his five year old son out of bed. Atem came quietly, still mostly asleep as it was the middle of the night. He kept the blanket wrapped around Atem since the chill of the desert night was going to be a bit worse where they were going.

The young Prince fell into a doze as his father carried him out of his room and down the hallway. Aknamkanon had been tempted to just leave him in bed and show him in the morning, after the fact, but this was too special to both of them to miss. Making sure Atem was covered sufficiently to keep warm, Aknamkanon stepped through the doorway at the back of the Palace, shutting the wooden doors softly behind him.

"Why are we outside?" Atem asked, his voice thick with sleep. Aknamkanon just chuckled lightly.

"You'll see, but I promise you'll like it."

He felt Atem nod against his shoulder and he could tell the child was more awake now, curiosity getting the better of him, especially when he saw exactly where they were going.

"Is it Sokari?" he asked, looking up at his father with wide eyes. Aknamkanon could practically feel him brimming with excitement, especially when he nodded and the Pharaoh almost had to laugh at the complete one-eighty Atem had done in the last few minutes.

"Just remember to be quiet, okay? We don't want to disturb her too much."

"Okay," Atem responded in a whisper.

With that, Aknamkanon opened the door to the barn. It was mostly dark save for a single oil lamp burning dimly at the very end of the building. They could hear the sounds of pacing and heavy breathing coming from the largest stall. As they got closer, a low groan reached their ears and they watched as the mare inside the stall lowered herself heavily to the floor.

Very carefully, Aknamkanon settled down a seat, letting Atem stand in his lap so he could see. For the next half hour, Sokari hauled herself to her feet and laid back down three or four more times, pacing restlessly while she was on her feet.

"Why's she doing that?" Atem asked quietly.

"She's just trying to get comfortable."

"So the baby can be comfortable?"

"Something like that, yeah. Just watch."

But Sokari didn't rise to her feet again, but instead lowered herself completely to lay on her side, breathing heavily. They could see the contractions rippling through her muscles every few minutes as she pushed, groaning loudly.

Atem's eyes were glued to the scene before him and it was almost as if he was forgetting to breathe. Aknamkanon made sure the blanket was staying around his shoulders, since goosebumps were rising the child's arms when they were exposed to the cold air.

"The baby's coming out!" Atem said excitedly, keeping his voice as quiet as he possibly could at the moment. Aknamkanon couldn't help but chuckle but he did glance at Sokari, just to make sure everything seemed to be going all right. A little head and front legs could be seen under the mare's tail, just enough to make a guess at the baby's coloration but the wetness of the fur still made it a bit difficult.

After a few more big pushes, though, Sokari got the hardest part through – the shoulders – and the rest of the foal just seemed to slide out easily. After a moment to let mother and baby rest and gain their bearings, Aknamkanon gently stood, setting Atem back down on the seat.

"Stay here, okay? You can watch, but wait until I tell you to come in."

Atem merely nodded, watching his father closely as the Pharaoh grabbed a nearby fleece and slid open the stall door just enough for him to squeeze through. Sokari eyed him, but she knew him and was too tired to do much anyway so she allowed him to start drying off the foal. It was dark, almost black, with a wide white blaze running the length of its face, and it was a very stark contrast between Sokari's light grey coat.

"Is he a boy or a girl?" Atem asked from where he still was, standing on the seat.

Aknamkanon took a moment to run the fleece down the length of the foal before checking.

"She's a little girl," he answered, looking over at Atem, "Would you like to come in and meet her?"

Atem nodded vigorously, his violet eyes wide at the prospect. Very carefully, he slid down from where he was and entered the stall, going to sit by his father. By now, Sokari was gaining more of her strength back and had shifted so she could reach around and being grooming her foal, getting the last remaining bits of the messy birthing process off.

"Does she have a name?" he asked, tentatively reaching out to pet the filly's damp neck.

"Not yet. What do you think we should name her?"

Atem seemed to think about it for a moment, his fingers entangled in a mass of fluffy mane. Aknamkanon saw him get an idea but it still took him a moment to voice it.

"Aamira?"

"I think that's a wonderful name. Aamira it is, then. Now why don't we let Sokari and Aamira rest? And get back to bed ourselves?"

Atem seemed hesitant to leave, but Aknamkanon could see how exhausted he really was getting. At such an age, it was difficult to be awake at this time of night, and they had already been out there for almost three hours.

"Come on," the Pharaoh encouraged, getting to his own feet, brushing the bedding off his clothes before reaching down and doing the same to his son, "You can come back for a while later," he said, picking Atem up and settling him against his shoulder.

Stepping out of the stall, Aknamkanon made sure it was latched behind him before grabbing the blanket that had been abandoned on the seat and draping it over the child that was already half asleep in his arms. With one last glance at the mare and foal, he blew out the oil lamp and navigated his way out of the dark stables and back to the Palace, where he could hope to get at least a few hours of rest for himself.


End file.
